The development of pressure ulcers among hospital and nursing home patients remains one of the greatest preventable challenges to healthcare worldwide. It is estimated that in 2011 in the United States alone, costs related to the prevention and management of pressure ulcers at home and in clinical settings exceeds three billion dollars annually.
Patients immobilized and unable to move can suffer serious destruction of the skin and soft body tissue in as little as one hour. This often results in the formation of a pressure ulcer. A pressure ulcer is defined as any lesion caused by unrelieved pressure resulting in underlying tissue damage. Complications related to pressure ulcers cause an estimated 60,000 deaths in the United States annually. However, most pressure ulcers are treatable and even preventable.
Patients that have difficulty moving while in bed are at risk with the highest risk for pressure ulcer development being among diabetic, insensate, and paraplegic patients. Accordingly, dozens of mattress designs have been produced over the years to help better distribute or periodically reduce pressure on anatomical areas of the body at high risk for the development of pressure ulcers. For example, the microAIR Therapeutic Support Systems manufactured by Invacare Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio provides a pneumatic mattress with alternating zones to change the points of support.
To date however, all the scientific data that has been developed to support mattress manufacturer claims has been based on interfacial (mmHg) pressure point measurements over time using an empirical algorithm to estimate tissue ischemia in an attempt to predict pressure ulcer development.
The inventors of the present invention have determined that this approach is unreliable. Therefore, what is needed are methods and systems to determine an off-loading mattress design and/or clinical procedure that will reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers and to provide treatment for all stages (e.g., 1 through 4) of pressure ulcers.